9th Circuit upholds right to bear arms

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the most liberal in the federal system. Yet here’s what it just did, as the Chronicle reported:

“California must allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms in public, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, striking down the core of the state’s permit system for handguns.

“In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said San Diego County violates the Constitution’s Second Amendment by requiring residents to show “good cause” — and not merely the desire to protect themselves — to obtain a concealed-weapons permit.”

Studies by John Lott and others gun scholars have shown that, when states adopt conceal-carry laws, crime drops. That’s because criminals don’t care about gun laws. And their criminal connections provide them with plentiful illegal guns.

All disarming citizens does is provide easy marks for criminals, because the chance of the victim defending himself is limited.

But with conceal carry, criminals don’t know who is armed, and who isn’t. Any potential victim, even a grandma with a purse, could be packing heat.

As we used to say in my U.S. Army days 35 years ago — outstanding!